There were various other prefixes besides SB used for other models–FC’s were Scouts, W’s were Emeryville DCO-405’s, FW’s were the DCO-405’s built at Fort Wayne, and there were more for different models at Fort Wayne in particular. However, when the 1961 C-line was introduced, the serial numbers kept going with the SB numbers rather than starting over. This sequence continued until 10/65 when a new 13 digit VIN was introduced.
Serial numbers started over with SA501 with the A-models in 1957 and again with SB501 with the B-line in 1959. When the S-line was introduced in 1955, it also started with serial S501, but there was no separate sequence for the various S models. The system used depends upon what time frame you have in mind.įor many years starting in the 1930”s or earlier, each individual model had its own serial number sequence starting with 501 when the model was introduced. If you have a table of them, they do identify the time frame a truck was built in, but that is not hidden within the serial number. There is little to decode from IH serial numbers. This is an updated version (June 29, 2004)
